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9th out of 16 books
—
4 voters
Fidelity
"Berry richly evokes Port William's farmlands and hamlets, and his characters are fiercely individual, yet mutually protective in everything they do. . . . His sentences are exquisitely constructed, suggesting the cyclic rhythms of his agrarian world."--New York Times Book Review.
Paperback, 208 pages
Published
September 28th 1993
by Pantheon
(first published 1992)
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Have you ever read a book only to envy the author's talent? If only I could be as wonderful a writer as Wendell Berry. The simplicity of his words evoke beautiful images of both scenery and inner beauty of the people he writes about. The five stories in this book are all set near Port William, a fictional town in the farmland of Kentucky. The characters are all connected in some way, just as in real small town life. The faithfulness of the characters are examined in each story; faithfulness to a...more
This slim volume of five short stories takes the reader back once again to Wendell Berry's fictional community of Port William, Kentucky and people who are familiar to us because of Berry's other novels that have been set in this tiny little rural Kentucky community. It's always a pleasure to read these books because it's like coming home again to a place where people live simple, yet complex and compelling lives rooted to the land and a sense of family and community loyalty that is missing from...more
I decided to give this book as a Christmas present to all my brothers and sisters this year . . . because it touched me. It contains five short stories, beautifully written, by Wendell Berry, “an American man of letters, academic, cultural and economic critic, and farmer,” according to his Wikipedia article.
All five stories are set in a fictional small-town/rural Kentucky community.
The title story in the book—the fourth story in the book—is by far the longest. But I found it profoundly thought-...more
All five stories are set in a fictional small-town/rural Kentucky community.
The title story in the book—the fourth story in the book—is by far the longest. But I found it profoundly thought-...more
I've long admired Wendell Berry's poetry, though I've spent limited time reading his prose and short stories. I'm also familiar with his writings on the agrarian lifestyle and his role as a prophet for the slow food/ locavore movement. This book was recommended to me by someone whom I was interviewing for a residency position and I'm delighted that he pointed me to it.
All of these short stories are based in and around Port William and the characters are woven from one story to another. While the...more
All of these short stories are based in and around Port William and the characters are woven from one story to another. While the...more
I love Wendell Berry. This collection is my least-favorite of his books that I've read so far, and I STILL just read it for the second time and gave it four stars. The writing is absolutely beautiful and his theme of fidelity between friends, family members and neighbors is made manifest in a genuine but non-sentimental way. The subject matter of a few of the stories just isn't very interesting to me, particularly the one about Arthur returning home from war ("Making it Home") and the one about...more
What a wonderful book of five short stories. This book reminded me of why I keep reading fiction. The title story was about the death of Burley Coulter, one of the continuing characters in Wendell Berry books.
It was such a great story of love for an imperfect, dying man by his family and community. "He was no longer in his right mind, they thought, because he was no longer in his right place." "Loving him, wanting to help him, they had given him over to "the best of modern medical care" - which...more
It was such a great story of love for an imperfect, dying man by his family and community. "He was no longer in his right mind, they thought, because he was no longer in his right place." "Loving him, wanting to help him, they had given him over to "the best of modern medical care" - which...more
This collection of 5 stories continues the history of Port William, Kentucky. Each one addresses an aspect of what it means to live well. Not rich or wealthy, but with grace and dignity within a community. "Pray Without Ceasing" is a story of love and forgiveness. "A Jonquil for Mary Penn" explores marriage and understanding. "Making It Home" deals with a soldier returning from war. "Fidelity" is a beautiful story of what it means to be true to yourself and those you love. "Are You All Right" is...more
Fidelity, Wendell Berry. These five stories tell about the reality of life in the small farm town of Port William, Kentucky. My favorite was "Pray without Ceasing", about the death of the narrator's grandfather in 1912.
"It was as though his soul, like a circling hawk, had swung back into this world on a wide curve, to look once more out of his eyes at what he had always known and to speak with his voice, and then had swung out of it again, the curve widening." "Fidelity"
"The intimation of Burle...more
This book solidified my admiration of W.B., after I loved *Hannah Coulter* in audio book form last summer but disliked *Jayber Crow* a few years ago. Maybe I just didn't appreciate J.C.'s "kidult" persona. In any case, this collection of short stories has one that just astonishes at the end with its beauty, and the others provide the warmth of the world W.B. has created through his books. It is tiresome that the only really unlikable person in the book is an "outsider" from the city. Must we? Th...more
I highly recommend Fidelity. Wendell Berry’s prose reads like poetry. He writes so simply and beautifully, touching the heart of his subject with a clarity that somehow feels both severe and gentle. He is a modern agrarian, setting his works in rural America. But his broader theme is human experience – loving, living, dying, finding meaning or failing to do so – and how we connect to one another in our families and communities. All five stories in this volume are worth a read.
Elegantly written stories, peopled with dignified characters. Berry makes me believe in fiction again as a worthwhile thing to read. His stories radiate the love and affection he must obviously feel for his characters. He has the remarkable ability to describe a full range of emotion in the fewest words possible, a gift that keeps me coming back for more stories about Port William and its inhabitants.
A good solid 3.5 - 4 stars. I liked it. I enjoyed it. Like a friend said, "it is like comfort food" -- soothing and relaxing. I think I would have liked this book better if I had been able to read it quicker. But life (husband's graduation, etc.) got in the way and I often had to put the book down for days. When I picked it up again I would be totally confused about characters and plot and had to do a lot of re-reading. I wish each story could have been longer or even a whole book -- I wanted to...more
"A Jonquil for Mary" -- captured that moment when a young wife realizes her husband truly loves her, truly sees her -- I loved that story's ending. All five stories in this too small collection show Berry's gift of painting the ordinary lives of people with compassion and fullness -- "Making it Home" was another favorite -- oh they are all worth reading more than once.
This book evokes a vivid nostalgia for a way of life that is gone, and for that, I appreciated it. Some of the writing is also very compelling, and there is good variety in the stories. But at times, it seems trite, and it can be hard to keep all of the characters straight. Some stories are stronger than others. "Fidelity" is, by far, the strongest; "Are You All Right?" is weak, for example.
"Pray without ceasing" the first of his 5 short stories had me weeping on the back deck while I read it. I haven't cried that hard in years. I am a child of forgiveness . . . wow. Absolutely a stunning story.
Some of the others were very good but none were as moving as the first. I enjoyed "Fidelity" a lot because I got to see the end of Burley Coulter's life.
Some of the others were very good but none were as moving as the first. I enjoyed "Fidelity" a lot because I got to see the end of Burley Coulter's life.
Apr 15, 2013
Jodi
rated it
2 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
women
Recommended to Jodi by:
Kelly Chripzuck
A quiet, comfortable book about the residents of a fictious town called Port William in Kentucky at different points in time. The people are all hard-working, quiet and have a strong sense of family. My favorite was "A Jonquil for Mary Penn" because of how the women helped each other and how the husband took care of her when she was sick.
Five of Wendell Berry's short stories collected together in one place. "A Jonquil for Mary Penn" in my mind is one of the most beautiful stories in the English language. I've never read anyone who can make a sad story sing the way Mr. Berry does. If you have never read any of Wendell Berry, this is as good a place as any to begin.
This is a quiet and deeply satisfying book about the fidelity of the neighbors of a small, close-knit community to each other and to their family members. I loved to read it just at bedtime for a peaceful feeling, as I drifted off to sleep. It is actually a collection of 5 short stories, all of which are excellent.
Comfort food and Wendell Berry fill the same occasional ache in my soul. The pace, characters, and setting return me to a simpler place and time where goodness is valued and achievable. Berry restores hope of an ordinary human life being valuable and having an impact.
Despite what the title is, Fidelity and its five short stories is not about marriage. But in a sense, it is: the members of Port William are loyal and faithful to each other, helping one another in simple or dire circumstances. Love the sense of community and family in this small Kentucky town.
I didn't get to read all of the stories in here. My favorite one was about a young wife who is sick one day. The way he described her compelling dilemma still echoes in my mind. Her kitchen revealed so much about her character....and it was all done so quietly, gently.
This is one of my all time favorite reads. I've given this book away so many times, I can't count them. I have my copy, well-thumbed, an old friend that I can pick up anytime to reacquaint with favorite characters and the easy, sweet rhythms of Berry gentle writing.
Wendell Berry: I think he's about 90, but still, I'm in love. He's a big agrarian and I love the way he talks about the land and the people's connection to where they live and his ideas about health, etc. I also love his poetry.
I really love Wendell Berry's short stories which are set in rural Kentucky in the mid 20th century. The characters are memorable and the stories are of every day struggles and hardships in a farming community.
The people in this book resemble my neighbors here in the mountains of Costa Rica. Down to earth mountain people. It is about community, the importance of kinship and friendship, and relationship to the land.
A wonderful book. Five short stories, all set in farming country in the hills of Kentucky, in the time when plows were still pulled by mules. All the stories share the theme of loyalty.
The characters that intertwine in this book of short stories are incredible and make the reader want to live a more genuine existence and to know their place at great depth.
This was my favorite read of 2010. Though the stories could be read separately, I recommend reading the book straight through in preparation for the last story.
Wow...I had forgotten how much I loved Berry's writing. THIS is a man who can wrench every emotion out of a short story with mere words. Incredible.
"Pray Without Ceasing" is my favorite of these stories. Favorite line from it:
"My grandfather made a peace here that has joined many who would otherwise have been divided. I am the child of his forgiveness."
And a sample of Berry's beautiful figurative language from "Making it Home":
"He stayed in hospitals while his life grew back around the wound, as a lightning-struck tree will sometimes heal over the scar, until finally they gave him his papers and let him go.
And now, though he walked stron...more
"My grandfather made a peace here that has joined many who would otherwise have been divided. I am the child of his forgiveness."
And a sample of Berry's beautiful figurative language from "Making it Home":
"He stayed in hospitals while his life grew back around the wound, as a lightning-struck tree will sometimes heal over the scar, until finally they gave him his papers and let him go.
And now, though he walked stron...more
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Wendell Berry is a conservationist, farmer, essayist, novelist, professor of English and poet. He was born August 5, 1934 in Henry County, Kentucky where he now lives on a farm. The New York Times has called Berry the "prophet of rural America."
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“The two families, sundered in the ruin of a friendship, were united again first in new friendship and then in mariage. My grandfather made a peace here that has joined many who would otherwise have been divided. I am the child of his forgiveness.”
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